Dancing Next to You
by mutents
Summary: He's nervous about a lot of things when it comes to their wedding - dancing perhaps most of all. (Book 9 of The Sousa's Story)


It had all gone off perfectly. That alone was a miracle, considering how nervous Daniel had been.

Daniel couldn't think of a single point in his life that he had ever been as nervous. He'd spent the entirety of what was meant to have been his bachelors party starring into his brandy, telling Elliot Hill from his company, Vinnie Ganza from the VA, and the rest of the bar how he was going to mess everything up. That he was going to forget his vows, and that he'd probably end up losing the ring, and how he couldn't even imagine how their first dance as husband and wife would go considering the damn crutch. And while all three men and the patrons of the bar would probably would deny it, the words "she deserves better" had passed Daniel's lips. (The third time he said it the bartender had slammed down the glass he had been cleaning and said, "don't you's realize that everytime you's say she don't deserve you, that you's insultin' her? You's saying she ain't smart enough to know what's best for her." Daniel had stopped after that.)

But none of that had happened. He'd been able to recite his written vows perfectly, despite how tongue tied he'd been upon seeing Peggy in the simple white dress. He hadn't lost the ring, it was in his pocket until it was placed on Peggy's hand.

But, they hadn't yet danced.

Peggy's friend, Angie, hadn't waited for the two to dance - not that Daniel minded. She'd seen the dance floor and had quickly grabbed Elliot's hand, escorting him out before he had a chance to argue.

The jazz band was currently playing an upbeat piece of swing, and Daniel was grinning widely as he watched his new wife and her friend danced together. They both were having the time of their life, giggling as they moved across the dance floor.

"Don't you think you should go out and dance with your wife?" A gruff voice asked, startling Daniel out of his thoughts.

"Colonel Phillips…"

"I still can remember my first dance with my Bonnie," the Colonel continued. "My Bonnie, she loved to dance - was good at it, too. The first time we ever talked was at a barn dance we had for my eldest sister, Suzanne. I never was any good; born with two left feet. I tried to learn, tried to have my sisters teach me, but they didn't now how to lead only how to follow. So Bonnie and I just kinda swayed together. When she was on her death bed, she said, "Chester, the best kinda dancin' I ever did, I did with you." She probably was just trying to stop my bawlin'… Didn't work; I still sobbed like a baby… But I never forgot those words.

"So, go out there and dance with your wife. You'll never regret it."

Daniel nodded, surprised by how much the Colonel had chosen to share. The older man had always prefered to stay private. Grabbing his crutch from where it leaned against the table, Daniel moved towards the woman who had allowed him to marry her.

Tapping Angie on the shoulder lightly, Daniel smiled as both women turned towards him. "Ms. Martinelli, would you mind terribly if I had a dance with Mrs. Sousa?"

Angie grinned like a fool, giving a vigorous nod and splitting off towards where Elliot was sitting.

"Mr. Sousa… I was starting to wonder if your name would ever grace my dance card."

"I must apologize for the wait, Mrs. Sousa. I was trying to work up the nerve."

As Daniel offered Peggy his hand, the brassy tune that the band was playing slowed, becoming more of a slow dance.

Daniel looked down at his crutch, wondering what he should do with the aluminum hinderance. The question was answered by Peggy, who lightly took the crutch away, set it on the floor, and pushed it to the side with her foot. She quickly turned back to Daniel, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself close.

"Would it shock you if I told you that of everything this wedding entailed, this was the part I was most nervous for?" Daniel asked, wrapping his own arms loosely around her lower back.

"Yes. Mostly because I imagined it would be the wedding night that you would be worried about," Peggy answered simply, swaying along with the music.

Daniel gulped.

In all of his worrying, he hadn't even thought of that.

* * *

I feel the need to defend the fact that I went with "Mrs. Sousa" instead of "Mrs. Carter-Sousa" like most writers. I imagine that it's kind of a split - at work she's Director Carter, but at home she's Mrs. Sousa. And while if it were a modern AU I'd be all for the hyphen, I don't feel like that was as large in the 40's and 50's. Of course, I could be wrong. I most certainly have never made a study of 40's and 50's wedding/marriage practices.


End file.
